Walters injury a concern for O'Neill ahead of vital clashes
Republic of Ireland's Jonathan Walters
Jonathan Walters remains an injury concern for Ireland manager Martin O'Neill after Burnley admitted they are unsure when the 33-year-old will return to action.
O'Neill is due to name his provisional squad for the World Cup qualifiers at home to Moldova (October 6) and away to Wales (October 9) next Tuesday.
Walters will definitely miss Burnley's Premier League clash with Huddersfield tomorrow because of a knee injury and manager Sean Dyche was unable to give any time frame for his return.
Walters suffered a minor ankle ligament problem earlier in the season but recovered to play in the disappointing 1-1 draw in Georgia only to be then struck down with a knee injury.
Struggling Meanwhile, Everton manager Ronald Koeman has revealed that James McCarthy is still struggling to regain fitness, but expects the 41-times-capped midfielder to return to full training next week.
The 26-year-old fell down the pecking order at Everton last season after the signings of Morgan Schneiderlin and Idrissa Gueye, and featured just 13 times in an injury-interrupted campaign.
He has not played a game since picking up a knee injury in the 3-2 defeat to Spurs last March.
Koeman is hoping that Seamus Coleman will be back in full training - and possibly back in action - before the end of the year after the Ireland captain stepped up his recovery from a broken leg.
Coleman has been sidelined since suffering that horrific injury during Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Wales at the Aviva Stadium in March.
